Benn on council tax: 'The government needs to wake up'

Shadow communities secretary Hilary Benn has said the government needs "to wake up" to the fact that hundreds of thousands of people have been taken to court in England for non-payment of council tax owing to benefit changes.

Labour said 112 English councils had reported issuing 156,000 court summonses since April to people paying more tax as a result of the changes.

Local Government minister Brandon Lewis said the survey was "misleading".